"Bron would have had to leave Cleveland" - Chauncey Billups rues Pistons' missed opportunity to draft Carmelo Anthony in 2003

The Detroit Pistons had the second pick in a 2003 NBA draft class filled with promising talents such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. There was an expectation that Anthony would go second, considering his outstanding collegiate career. To this day, Pistons legend Chauncey Billups still wonders why Detroit went with Darko Milicic instead.

With James going first, Anthony found himself being selected by the Denver Nuggets as the third pick. At the time, the Pistons already had Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. In the same season, Detroit went on to challenge the mighty LA Lakers with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to capture its third NBA championship.

In an interview with Anthony on his "7PM in Brooklyn" podcast, the former Pistons guard still looked back on that moment as an intriguing what-if scenario.

"We was already celebrating..... We still reminisce about that s***, man. Like, we still don't know what happened. ... Man, we win at least three chips, bruh. I say it all the time. I'd be on 'em. I said, 'Bron would have had to leave Cleveland a lot earlier than he left because they never was going to beat us. They never would have beat us."

The fit would have been interesting to witness as Carmelo Anthony established himself as a dynamic three-level scorer. From his quick shot release to his polished offensive skill set, Anthony would have added a different option for the Pistons whenever the offense stalled.

Meanwhile, Darko Milicic struggled to find any footing in the NBA, despite being drafted high in his class. Anthony became a 10-time All-Star while Milic started just 208 games in 10 seasons with six teams.

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Carmelo Anthony revealed the Pistons' original plan to draft him second in 2003

On the "All The Smoke" podcast, Carmelo Anthony considered the 2003 draft as a major shift in his professional career, considering the original promise that the Pistons made to him.

"That changed the course of my career, man," Anthony said. "To this day, I still think about that. ... Because I'm like, they promised me. ... I'm talking all the way up until draft day, you understand? 'We're taking you.' ... Understand that if I'm there, they win another one. I think we go back-to-back if I'm there."

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony

Looking over the 20 seasons Anthony played in the league, he accomplished so much to put up a stacked resume. However, some would argue that a championship was the only accolade missing from his career.

Despite being a prominent player in the history of the Nuggets and the Knicks, the 2012-13 scoring champion still pointed out the missed opportunity to learn under the ropes of Chauncey Billups and the rest of the 2004 champions.

They could have gone back-to-back or they also could have fallen short of that goal, even with Carmelo Anthony. However, no one could definitively say that it would not have been interesting to see what would unfold in real time.